Māori housing trends
New research has found that most Māori have a strong desire to own their homes even though current rates of homeownership are low and declining.
The research, by the Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit and Massey University's Research Centre for Māori Health and Development, looked at Māori housing experiences and aspirations to identify emerging trends and issues.
The research was jointly funded by the Centre for Housing Research, Aotearoa New Zealand and Te Puni Kōkiri.
The key findings include:
- Despite low, and declining, homeownership rates of less than 50%, most Māori have a strong desire to own their own homes.
- The main barriers to homeownership (especially for larger and younger Māori families) are low incomes, high debt levels, poor access to finance, high property prices and lack of information about homeownership.
- Māori householders and renters are generally positive about their housing experiences but face particular challenges in rural and urban areas, including housing supply, quality, pricing, and variation in landlord practices.
- Māori housing preferences and experiences must be understood in terms of Māori cultural practices, the importance of proximity to whānau and whānau land and lineage-based shared property rights. Proximity to whānau is crucial in preferred house location with Māori households often accepting substandard housing as a result.
- Housing policy responses have been inconsistent and unco-ordinated between delivery agencies. Some current policies have been positive for Māori, others are still being assessed. Consequently, the gap between Māori housing realities and aspirations continues to widen.
The authors recommend building on existing housing policies to develop new initiatives to overcome barriers to improving Māori housing circumstances.
Copies of the research report are available at www.chranz.co.nz, or contact terrence.aschoff@chranz.co.nz
